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12^]^  §02  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 

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THE  RITUAL  SIGNIFICANCE  OF 
YELLOW  AMONG  THE  ROMANS 


BY 


FRANCIS  MARION  DANA 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL,  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OP  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
1919 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


THE  RITUAL  SIGNIFICANCE  OF 
YELLOW  AMONG  THE  ROMANS 


BY 

FRANCIS  MARION  DANA 


A  THESIS 

PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  THE  GRADUATE  SCHOOL,  IN 

PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS  FOR 

THE  DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 


PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 
1919 


03 


The  writer  takes  this  opportunity  to  express  her 
gratitude  to  those  members  of  the  department  of  Latin 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  under  whom  she  has 
studied  and  to  whose  helpful  encouragement  through- 
out the  preparation  of  this  thesis  she  is  deeply  indebted : 
to  Professors  J.  C.  Rolfe,  W.  B.  McDaniel,  R.  G.  Kent, 
G.  D.  Hadzsits,  H.  B.  Van  Deventer  and  E.  H,  Heffner; 
and  also  to  Dr.  M,  E.  Armstrong,  of  Goucher  College, 
for  valuable  suggestions  in  connection  with  this  dis- 
sertation. 


rS:  r-^  'W  Aa>\J  ^J 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 7 

Comparison  of  Color  Terms 9 

Yellow  in  the  Flammeum 12 

Yellow  as  the  Color  of  the  Bride's  Shoes,  etc 15 

FiRB  as  a  Symbol  of  Life 16 

Yellow  as  the  Chromatic  Symbol  of  Fire  and  of  Life 21 

The  Torch  as  a  Symbol  of  Life 23 

Yellow  Used  by  Women 24 

Fire  as  a  Symbol  of  Purification 25 

Yellow  in  the  Cults  of  the  Gods 28 

Yellow  in  Magic 30 

Conclusion 31 

Bibliography 33 

Index 35 


INTRODUCTION 

The  conventional  significance  of  color  occupies  an  important 
and  little-understood  position  in  the  human  thought  of  all 
ages,  but  it  is  only  within  recent  years  that  any  detailed  study 
has  been  made  of  individual  colors  as  being  religiously  sym- 
boUc.  Among  the  ancient  Romans,  religion  was  almost  en- 
tirely a  matter  of  convention,  and  we  should  therefore  expect 
to  find  that  their  religious  rites  were,  in  a  large  degree,  fettered 
by  a  formalism  which  tended  to  produce  an  intricate  system 
of  symbolism.  Such  being  the  case,  it  has  been  for  centuries 
the  task  of  scholars  to  attempt  to  discover  the  meaning  of  cer- 
tain religious  rites,  a  meaning  which  the  Romans  themselves  were 
far  from  understanding.  In  all  these  researches,  however,  there 
is  but  little  mention  of  the  significance  of  color,  and  it  is  the 
aim  of  this  study  to  examine  a  part  of  this  phase  of  Roman 
religion. 

A  recent  study  by  Dr.  M.  E.  Armstrong,  of  Goucher  College, 
has  accounted  most  satisfactorily  for  the  use  of  scarlet,  purple, 
black  and  white,  and  gold  in  Roman  ritual,  but  no  study  has 
been  made  of  the  use  of  yellow,  which  is  important  particularly 
in  the  marriage  ceremony.  Of  what  natural  phenomena  was 
yellow  the  visible  sign  or  representation,  and  what  was  the 
underlying  idea  which  the  Romans  wished  to  express  by  its 
use?  These  are  the  questions  which  must  be  confronted  in 
an  investigation  of  this  kind.  In  this  connection  the  words 
found  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance  are  luteus  and  croceus. 
First  of  all,  therefore,  we  have  tried  to  collect,  as  nearly  as 
possible,  all  the  passages  in  which  they  occur,  in  order  to  decide 
the  difference,  if  any,  in  their  color  denotation.  Though  it 
has  been  impossible  to  make  separate  mention  of  all  the  refer- 
ences collected  for  this  purpose,  those  have  been  quoted  which 
seem  to  bear  especially  upon  the  final  decision. 

A  brief  study  of  the  word  flavus  revealed  the  fact  that,  with 
perhaps  one  exception,  it  has  apparently  no  symbolical  sig- 
nificance; therefore  references  to  its  use  are  few,  and  the  dis- 
cussion is  confined  for  the  most  part  to  passages  in  which  luteus 
or  croceus  occurs. 

7 


8  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

In  an  effort  to  discover  the  fundamental  idea  which  the 
Romans  wished  to  express  by  their  use  of  yellow,  it  has  been 
found  necessary  to  introduce  discussions  of  some  length  ex- 
planatory of  several  of  the  most  important  conceptions  associ- 
ated with  Roman  religion  and  private  life. 

Greek  literature  has  been  drawn  upon  only  so  far  as  it  bears 
directly  upon  our  discussion,  and  no  exhaustive  collection  of 
material  has  been  attempted  in  that  field. 


THE    RITUAL    SIGNIFICANCE    OF    YELLOW    AMONG 
THE  ROMANS 

Comparison  of  Color  Terms 

The  word  yellow,  like  all  other  general  terms  denoting  one 
color  or  another  in  the  English  language,  may  be  understood 
to  indicate  any  one  of  a  number  of  shades.  Similarly  in  Latin, 
a  somewhat  wide  range  of  tint  variation  must  be  given  to  such 
a  general  term  as  luteus,  croceus,  or  flatus.  Professor  Price 
finds  in  the  color  system  of  Vergil  forty-two  pigments,  and 
calculates  that  "each  color  term  must  cover  on  an  average, 
the  expression  of  twenty-six  closely  aUied  tints. "^  It  is  fair 
to  draw  the  conclusion  then  that  by  a  like  study  of  other  Latin 
authors  somewhat  the  same  result  would  be  obtained,  and  that 
"for  each  color  term,  therefore,  we  must  seek  to  find  one  color 
as  the  norm  or  axis  of  its  chromatic  power." 

A  study  and  comparison  of  the  words  luteus  and  croceus  is 
interesting  chiefly  because  of  the  similarity  rather  than  the 
dissimilarity  of  the  objects  to  which  they  are  applied.  Flowers,^ 
flower  seeds,^  violets,^  the  aurora,^  pallor  of  countenance,® 
the  yolk  of  egg,''  parchment,^  flickering  hght,»  are  indifferently 
spoken  of  as  luteus  or  croceus.  Professor  McCrea^*'  arrives  at 
the  conclusion  that  Ovid's  standard  in  nature  for  luteus  is  sul- 
phur, judging  from  the  line  "luteave  exiguis  ardescunt  sulpura 

1  T.  R.  Price,  The  Color  System  of  Vergil,  AJP.  IV,  pp.  1-20. 

2  Avian.  Fab.  26.5;  Ov.  Met.  3.509;  Diosc.  4.125;  Plin.  N.  H.  25,108;  26.57. 
3piin.iV.fl".  27.83;  21.49,  124. 

*  Colum.  9.4.4;  Plin.  N.  H.  21.131;  Copa  13.  There  is  manuscript  authority 
for  the  reading  "et  Cecropio"  for  "etiam  croceo"  in  the  last  passage,  a  read- 
ing which  would  make  the  reference  of  no  value  here. 

6  Verg.  Aen.  7.26;  Ov.  Met.  7.703;  13.579  f.;  Fast.  4.714;  Ars  3.179  f.;  Sen. 
Here.  F.  124;  Sidon.  Carm.  22.48  f.;  Auson.  431.1. 

«  Prud.  Cath.  8.26-7;  Tib.  1.8.52;  Hor.  Epod.  10.16;  Pers.  3.95;  Cass.  Fel.  49, 
p.  128.9  (ed.  Rose);  Paul.  Petric.  Mart.  3.199. 

'Mart.  13.40.1;  Mart.  Cap.  2.140;  Cass.  Fel.  78,  p.  190.14  (ed.  Rose); 
Marcell.  Med.  4.15;  Plin.  N.  H.  10.144,  148. 

8Juv.  7.23;  Tib.  3.1.9. 

•Sol.  2.43;  Apul.  Met.  11.3. 

1"  N.  G.  McCrea,  Ovid's  Use  of  Colour  and  Colour  Terms,  Classical  Studies 
in  Honour  of  Henry  Drisler,  p.  188. 

9 


10  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

fumis."^^  He  argues  therefore  that  luteus  is  a  greenish  yellow, 
showing  also  that  in  Ovid's  other  three  uses  of  the  word^^  the  ap- 
phcation  would  be  scientifically  accurate.  Of  Ovid  this  is  perhaps 
true,  as  would  also  be  suggested  by  such  word  combinations 
as:  "  (folia)  colore  in  luteum  languescente,"'^^  "  (cucumis)  mades- 
cit  luteus, "1^  "luteis  ramuHs/'i^  "luteola  oliva/'^^  and  "folia 
eius  (dodecatheoni)  exeunt  a  lutea  radice.""  Following  Pro- 
fessor McCrea's  interpretation  we  might  also  accurately  de- 
scribed^ the  color  effects  of  the  aurora  by  luteus.  Pallor  of 
countenance  too,  as  everyone  probably  can  attest  from  personal 
observation,  1*  properly  comes  under  the  same  designation.  But 
in  uncritical  passages  such  as  those  extant  in  Latin  literature, 
it  seems  unlikely  that  the  greenish  tint  would  be  emphasized  in 
referring  to  parchment,  the  yolk  of  egg,  flowers  and  flower 
stamens,^''  though  any  one  of  these  is  capable  of  great  variation  of 
color.  It  is  the  brilliant  yellow  of  the  marigold^i  which  Vergil 
wishes  to  impress  upon  the  mind  of  his  reader  and  not  the 
greenish  hue  of  a  rare  variety. 

But  primitive  man  was  notoriously  awkward  and  unobserving 
in  devising  terms  for  color,  and  the  ancient  Romans  them- 
selves without  doubt  confused  the  two  words,  and  in  many 
passages  are  found  actually  to  have  identified  them.  Isidore" 
says:  "luteus  color  rubicundus,  quod  est  croceus.  Nam  cro- 
ceum  lutei  coloris  est,  ut  (Verg.  Eel.  4.  44) :    'croceo  mutavit 


"  Met.  15.351.  H.  Bllimner,  Die  Farhenhezeichnungen  bei  den  rdmischen 
Dichtern,  Berliner  Studien,  vol.  XIII,  p.  128,  maintains  that  in  this  case  the 
word  "bedeutet  einfach  gelb." 

12  Met.  7.703;  13.579  f.;  Fast.  4.714. 

"  Plin.  A^.  H.  27.133. 

»  Cohim.  10.398. 

16  Plin.  N.  H.  27.55. 

16  Colum.  12.49.9. 

1'  Plin.  N.  H.  25.28. 

1^  O.  Rood,  Modern  Chromatics,  p.  245. 

"  Cf.  Macbeth  1.7:  37-8:   "And  wakes  it  now,  to  look  so  pale  and  green, 
At  what  it  did  so  freely?  " 

20  Plin.  N.  H.  21.14. 

21  Verg.  Eel.  2.50. 

^Orig.  19.28.8.  Cf.  Serv.  ad  Verg.  Eel.  4.44:  "luto  colore  rubicundo. 
Et  est  hypallage  pro  'croco  luteo,'  nam  crocum  lutei  coloris  est."  Non.  p. 
549  M:  "Luteus  color  proprie  crocinus  est."  Isid.  Orig.  18.41.2:  "luteos, 
id  est  croceos."     Claud.  10.211. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  11 

vellera  luto.'  "  Gellius"  classes  luteus  as  "rufus  color,"  associ- 
ating it  with  ruhidus,  rutilus,  and  poeniceus,  but  perhaps  no 
more  credence  can  be  given  to  this  classification  than  to  his 
accompanying  etymology:  "luteus  contra  rufus  color  est  dilutior; 
inde  ei  nomen  quoque  esse  factum  videtur."  It  is  strange  that 
Latin  writers  persistently  class  luteus  with  the  shades  of  red 
when  no  passage  of  literature,  with  one  possible  exception, ^^ 
forces  us  to  interpret  the  word  thus.  But  it  is  constantly 
difficult  for  us  to  draw  the  line  between  the  shades  of  red  and 
those  of  yellow,  and  luteus  and  croceus,  like  our  scarlet,  may 
denote  shades  tinged  either  with  yellow  or  with  orange. 

On  the  other  hand,  Gellius^^  speaks  of  croceus  as  "rufus  color," 
associating  it  at  the  same  time  with  igneus,  flammeus,  san- 
guineus, ostrinus,  and  aureus.  There  is  probably  more  reason 
for  considering  croceus  as  being  of  a  reddish  hue^s  than  luteus, 
because  of  several  passages  in  which  the  former  is  used  of 
blood.27  The  sunset,^*  and  the  rainbow,^^  of  which  the  most 
noticeable  hues  are  perhaps  those  of  red,  are  also  called  croceus. 
A  number  of  other  word  combinations  would  further  suggest 
the  reddish  color,  ^o  Except  in  these  few  passages  the  usage 
of  the  word  does  not  seem  to  differ  from  that  of  luteus,  and 
so  we  may  conclude  that  the  norm  of  each  color  scale  is  a  pure 
yellow,  tending  to  shade,  in  the  case  of  luteus,  toward  green, 
in  the  case  of  croceus,  toward  red. 

Little  need  be  said  of  flavus,  since  it  is  of  less  distinctive  im- 
portance to  our  study  and  shows  fewer  variations  in  hue. 
Its  general  standards  in  nature  are  the  waters  and  sands  of 
the  Tiber,3i  the  arena,32  the  shore,^^  and  especially  the  golden 

23  2.26.8,  15. 

2*Nemes.  Cyn.  319:   "rubescere  Into." 

26  2.26.5. 

2«  Price,  o-p.  cit.  p.  14. 

"  Chiron  169:  "cuicunque  sanguilentus  umor  per  nares  profluet  et  croceus." 
Perhaps  also  Cypr.  Gall.  Lev.  112;  Veg.  Mulom.  1.3;  Potam.  Tract.  2  p.  1416^; 
Lucr.  6.1188. 

28  Prud.  c.  Symm.  2  -praef.  4;  Cypr.  Gall.  Exod.  615. 

23  Cypr.  Gall.  Gen.  333;  Verg.  Aen.  4.700. 

3°  Cypr.  Gall.  los.  407:  "unde  rubet  croceum  venientis  flararaa  diei." 
Prud.  c.  Symm.  2  praef .  4:  "vesper  croceus  rubet."  Ambr.  in  Psalm.  118, 
serm.  17.29:  "rubet  croceo  colore."  Plin.  N.  H.  31.90:  "crocei  coloris  aut 
rufi."     Ov.  Fast.  5.318. 

31  Ov.  Met.  14.448;  Trist.  5.1.31. 

32  Ov.  Ibis  47. 

"  Ov.  Met.  15.722. 


12  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

yellow  hair'*  which  the  Romans  valued  so  highly.  Schmidt'-' 
describes  flavus  as  "nur  gelb  oder  blond."  It  is  used  especially 
of  Ceres'^  and  seems  to  have  become  a  fixed  poetic  epithet 
descriptive  of  the  ripened  grain. 

Yellow  in  the  Flammeum 

No  mention  has  as  yet  been  made  here  of  these  words  as 
used  in  certain  connections  which  would  be  of  no  consequence 
in  determining  their  color  denotation,  but  which  nevertheless 
are  of  great  importance  to  the  study  of  Roman  life  and  thought. 

The  most  important  use  of  yellow  in  Roman  ritual  was  in 
the  bridal  veil,  the  flammeum,  ''quo  se  cooperiunt  mulieres  die 
nuptiarum."''  I  speak  of  it  as  "yellow"  in  spite  of  a  number  of 
German  critics,  notably  Samter,'*  who  mention  it  as  being 
"von  roter  Farbe."  The  bridal  veil  was,  however,  luteus,^^ 
and  luteus,  as  has  been  shown,  can  scarcely  be  considered  red.*" 
So  important  were  the  rite  and  the  color  of  the  veil,  that  there 
were  dyers  at  Rome  who  devoted  themselves  wholly  to  the 
coloring  of  marriage  veils,  "flammeari,  infectores  flammei  col- 
ons," says  Festus."  The  custom  of  veiling  the  bride  seems 
never  to  have  been  departed  from;  the  very  expressions:  "mulier 
nubit,"*2  "flammea  sumit,"*'  were  in  themselves  indicative  of 


3"  Sen.  Oed.  420;  Hor.  Carm.  4.4.4;  Verg.  Aen.  4.590;  Gell.  2.26.12-13. 

^*  J.  H.  H.  Schmidt,  Handbuch  der  lateinischen  und  griechischen  Synonymik, 
p.  218. 

s^Lucan.  4.412;  Tib.  1.1.15;  Verg.  Georg.  1.96;  Ov.  Am.  3.10.3,  43;  Met. 
6.118;  Fast.  4.424. 

"  Schol.  ad  Juv.  6.225. 

^*  Ernst  Samter,  Familienfeste,  pp.  47  ff. 

39  Claud.  10.211;  Plin.  N.  H.  21.46;  Lucan.  2.361.  A.  Rich  (Wdrterbuch 
der  rom.  Alt.,  s.  v.  flammeum)  says:  "Es  (the  veil)  war  von  tiefer  und  glanz- 
ender  gelbe  Farbe,  wie  eine  Flamme,  daher  sein  Name." 

*''Blumner,  op.  cit.,  p.  126,  n.  1:  "blutrot  war  die  Farbe  des  Flammeums 
auf  keinen  Fall."  A.  Waldo,  Lateinisches  ctymologisches  Wdrterbuch,  s.  v. 
lutum,  translates  luteus  as  "goldgelb."  Schol.  ad  Juv.  6.225,  calls  it  "sang- 
uineum." 

^1  Festus  p.  89  M. 

*- Orthographia  Capri,  Gram.  Lat.  VII,  p.  103.14-15,  Keil.  Cf.  Martial's 
use  of  nubere:   5.17.4;  4.13.1;  6.45.3;  and  many  other  instances. 

«Juv.  2.124  (here  in  derision  for  effeminacy);  Stat.  Theb.  2.341.  Cf. 
also  Apul.  Apol.  76:  "flammeo  absoleto";  Juv.  6.225:  "flammea  conterit"; 
and  Schol.  on  this  line. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  13 

the  marriage  ceremony.  The  practice  was  by  no  means  con- 
fined to  Rome/''  but  of  the  significance  and  universality  of  the 
custom  there  is  no  need  to  speak,  though  several  interesting 
conjectures  might  be  noted. •*^ 

The  Romans  themselves  had  their  own  ideas  as  to  the  reason 
for  the  use  of  the  flammeum.  It  was  worn,  says  Festus,^^  "omi- 
nis  boni  causa,"  and  was  the  symbol  of  the  stability  of  human 
marriage,''^  "quod  eo  assidue  utebatur  flaminica  .  .  .  cui 
non  licebat  facere  divortium."  Rossbach**  explains  the  use 
of  the  veil,  in  each  case,  in  connection  with  the  sacrifice  which 
was  offered  by  the  matron  at  the  household  hearth,  by  the 
Flaminica  at  the  altar  of  Juppiter  Dialis,  and  by  the  bride  at 
the  hearth  of  her  new  husband.  Diels"  also  connects  it  with 
the  idea  of  the  sacrifice  and  considers  the  putting  on  of  the 
flammeum  an  expiatory  rite:  "das  purpurne  oder  rote  Gewand- 
stiick  ahmt  die  Farbe  des  Blutes  nach";  while  Samter^"  thinks 
it  a  substitute  for  blood  offerings.  In  these  cases  there  is  a 
misconception  of  the  color  used.  The  simple  veiling  could 
not  have  been  considered  necessarp  in  connection  with  the 
sacrifice  alone,  because  veiling  was  common  among  people 
who  made  no  such  sacrifice.^'  Furthermore,  the  sacrifice  was 
not  an  inseparable  part  of  the  Roman  marriage  ceremony. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  supposition  that  it  was  the  custom 
for  the  matron  to  wear  the  veil  rests  upon  a  single  statement 
of  Nonius: 52  "flammeum,  vestis  vel  tegmen  quo  capita  matronae 

"Samter,  op.  cit.  p.  48;  L.  Schroeder,  Die  Hochzeitsbrauche  der  Esten, 
p.  72S.;Ge7iesisXXlY,  65. 

"F.  C.  Conybeare,  Myth,  Magic  and  Morals,  pp.  232  f.:  "The  idea  that 
spirits,  especially  evil  ones,  approach  women  through  the  ears  .  .  .  was  an 
old  Rabbinic  one,  found  in  the  Talmud,  in  Philo,  Josephus,  and  above  all  in 
Paul  .  .  .  (I  Cor.  XI).  .  .  .  Tertullian  .  .  .  explains  that  evil  angels  were 
ever  lurking  about,  ready  to  assail  even  married  women  .  .  .  through  their 
ears.  From  this  point  of  view  he  penned:  De  Virginibus  Velandis,"  and  the 
church  is  still  careful  to  veil  the  nuns  and  to  require  a  hat  to  be  worn  in  church. 
E.  J.  Wood,  The  Wedding  Day  in  All  Ages  and  Countries,  p.  18,  states  that 
among  the  Jews  it  was  the  sign  of  subjection  to  the  husband. 

*^  Fest.  p.  89  M. 

*''  Cf.  Frederic  Portal,  Des  couleurs  symboliques,  p.  242. 

*^  A.  W.  Rossbach,  Untersuchungen  liber  die  romische  Ehe,  pp.  284  f. 

"  Hermann  Diels,  Sibyllinische  Blatter,  p.  70.     See  also  note  129. 

^»  Op.  cit.  p.  53. 

"  Ibid.  p.  52. 

^2  Non.  p.  541  M. 


14  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

tegunt."  In  reference  to  this,  Ellis,  in  his  edition  of  Catullus,  s' 
admits  that  the  marriage  fiammeum  may  not  have  been  identical 
with  that  of  the  matronae,  while  Samter^"*  goes  even  farther 
and  more  rightly  considers  that  the  passage  "steht  nicht  in 
Einklang  mit  den  sonstigen  Nachrichten;  vermutlich  liegt  nur 
ein  Missverstandnis  oder  ein  undeuthcher  Ausdruck  des  Com- 
pilators  vor."  At  least  the  passage  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  the  matron  wore  the  fiammeum  continuously,  and  it  may 
be  merely  a  careless  statement  of  the  well  known  marriage  cus- 
tom. 

Enveloping  the  head"  and  covering  the  hair,^^  the  fiammeum 
veiled  the  downcast  face  of  the  bride."  It  must  not  be  associ- 
ated with  the  veil  worn  by  the  bride  of  today,  for  it  was  not 
an  accessory  part  of  the  bridal  costume,  but  a  robe  in  itself 
which  covered  the  whole  figure  from  head  to  foot.^^  It  was 
by  far  the  most  important  and  noticeable  portion  of  the  wed- 
ding attire  by  reason  of  its  size  and  color,  as  may  well  be  realized 
by  a  glance  at  the  illustrations,^'  particularly  the  Aldobrandini 
marriage  picture.^"  In  this,  the  use  of  yellow  is  especially 
emphasized,  since  the  headdress  of  the  bridegroom,  the  shoes 
of  the  bride,  the  mattress  and  the  counterpane  of  the  bed,  the 
footstool,  and  the  towel  are  all  of  that  color.  We  have,  how- 
ever, no  ancient  literary  authority  for  such  extensive  use  of 
yellow  by  the  bride  and  groom,  though  there  is  mention  of  a 
network  cap,^'  "reticulum  luteum,"  worn  by  the  bride,  "ominis 
causa. "''^     On  the  ancient  marriage  veil,  exclusive  of  the  Roman, 


63  61.8,  note. 

"  Op.  cit.  p.  47,  n.  2. 

66  Petron.  26.1:  "caput  involverat  flammeo." 

se  Claud.  10.285. 

"Mart.  12.42.3;  Lucan.  2.361;  Orthographia  Capri,  Gram.  Lat.  VII,  p. 
103.14-15,  Keil. 

68  Cf.  E.  T.  Merrill's  note  on  Cat.  61.8;  Rich,  op.  cit.  discussion  and  plate 
under  fiammeum;  H.  B.  Walters,  A  Classical  Dictionary,  discussion  under 
flammeum. 

65  Th.  Schreiber,  Atlas  of  Classical  Antiquities,  pi.  81. 

fi"  C.  A.  Bottiger,  Aldobrandinische  Hochzeit,  pp.  192  ff.  See  for  illus- 
tration: H.  B.  Walters,  The  Art  of  the  Romans,  pi.  40.     Cf.  Verg.  Aen.  4.585. 

61  Fest.  p.  286  M. 

62  Samter  (op.  cit.  p.  48)  says  that  the  use  of  the  flammeum  or  its  equivalent 
was  not  exclusively  a  Roman  custom,  but  errs  in  citing  as  parallels  instances 
of  red  or  purple  in  the  marriage  ritual  of  other  peoples. 


The  Riiual  Significance  of  Yelloiv  15 

there  is  no  direct  evidence,  though  Wachsmuth'^'  beheves  that 
the  ancient  Greek  veil  was  of  reddish  hue.  But  a  true  parallel 
may  be  found  in  the  modern  Greek  custom  in  accordance  with 
which  the  bride  wears  a  flame-colored,  gold-fringed  veil.^^ 

Yellow  as  the  Color  of  the  Bride's  Shoes,  etc. 

The  shoes  also  of  the  bride  were  yellow.  Hymen,  the  god 
of  love  and  marriage,  is  pictured"  wearing  the  "luteus  soccus." 
Now  the  use  of  the  soccus  was  in  general  confined  to  women  ^^ 
and  comic  actors.  Since  Hymen  can  have  no  connection  with 
comic  actors,  we  must  consequently  interpret  his  use  of  the 
soccus  as  indicative  of  the  marriage  ceremony,  and  as  assigned 
to  him  in  his  role  of  the  bride. ""^^  Again  we  have,  with  reference 
to  the  bride,  the  expressions  "fulgentem  plantam"^^  and  "aure- 
olos  pedes, "«*  both  doubtless  containing  the  same  idea  of  color. 
But  in  Seneca^^  we  find  the  line:  "luteo  plantas  cohibente 
socco,"  with  reference  to  the  wife  of  Hercules,  and  with  ap- 
parently no  idea  of  the  marriage  custom.^"  The  use  of  the  color 
yellow  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  women,  says  Phny,^i  and 
since  other  garments  of  the  color  were  commonly  worn  by  them 
at  all  times,  it  is  not  improbable  that  yellow  shoes  also  were 
common  articles  of  dress,  and  such  a  connection  may  serve 
only  to  convince  us  of  the  truth  of  Pliny's  statement.  Cupid, 
dressed  in  a  yellow  tunic,  flits  hither  and  thither  about  the 
head  of  Catullus'  sweetheart,  Lesbia."  Among  the  gifts  pre- 
sented to  a  bride  we  read  of  a  veil  embroidered  with  the  yellow 

^^  Curt  Wachsmuth,  Das  alte  Griechenland  im  neuen,  p.  90,  n.  43,  quoted 
by  Samter,  op.  cit.  p.  48.     The  opinion  is  based  on  Achill.  Tat.  2.11. 

^*  Reinsberg-Duringfeld,  Hochzeitsbuch,  p.  59,  quoted  by  Samter,  op.  cit. 
p.  48. 

^^Cat.  61.5-10.  Ci.Ov.Met.  10.1  f.:  "croceo  velatus  amictu  .  .  .  digreditur 
.  .  .  Hymenaeus."  Epist.  21.162:  " (Hymenaeus)  .  .  .  trahitur  multo 
splendida  palla  croco." 

^^  Suet.  Cal.  52:   "soccus  muliebris." 

««^  See  Ellis'  note  on  Cat.  61.10. 

"  Cat.  68.71. 

«8Cat.  61.167. 

69  Phaed.  322. 

'"  Bliimner,  op.  cit.  p.  125. 

'1  Plin.  A^.  H.  21.46:  "lutei  video  honorem  antiqui.ssimum  in  nuptialibus 
flammeis  totum  feminis  eoncessum." 

^2  Cat.  68.133-4. 


16  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

acanthus.^'  The  very  bonds  of  wedlock,  probably  as  sacred 
to  the  Romans  as  to  us,  in  spite  of  the  satirists,  were  yellow 
(flava  .  .  .  vinculo).''* 

Fire  as  a  Symbol  of  Life 

What  the  omen'^^  was  which  the  Roman  mind  associated 
with  these  marriage  customs  may  possibly  best  be  determined 
by  a  study  of  the  other  rites  indispensable  to  the  occasion. 

The  deductio,  commemorating,  says  Pliny,  ^^  the  rape  of  the 
Sabines,  was  essential  to  the  validity  of  the  marriage,  and  hence 
was  never  omitted  when  the  parties  were  of  any  social  standing 
whatever.  The  part  of  the  deductio  which  assumes  foremost 
place  in  the  consciousness  of  the  Roman  poets  was  apparently 
the  use  of  torches, ^^  the  felices  taedae,''''  which  was  also  con- 
sidered an  omen."*  These  were  carried  not  only  by  the  patrimus 
or  matrimus  who  bore  the  wedding  torch  (spina  alba),''^  but 
also  by  the  procession  of  guests.*''  In  ancient  Greece,  too,  we 
find  the  use  of  torches  common,  since  the  mother  of  the  bride 
accompanied  her  daughter,  torch  in  hand,  to  her  new  home, 
where  she  was  welcomed  by  the  mother  of  the  bridegroom, 
also  carrying  a  torch.*'  In  modern  Greece  the  bride  and  groom 
themselves  carry  torches,*^  and  many  other  examples  might 
be  noted.*^  They  were  necessary,  says  Festus,*^  "quia  noctu 
nubebant,"  and  Servius*Mikewise  states:  "Varro  .  .  .  dicit 
sponsas  ideo  faces   praeire,  quod   antea  non  nisi   per  noctem 


'3  Auson.  35.5.4;  cf.  Verg.  Aen.  1.649  ff.,  1.711. 

7*  Tib.  2.2.18. 

7^*  See  notes  46  and  61. 

"  N.  H.  16.75. 

'«  Mart.  3.93.26;  4.13.2;  12.42.3;  Cat.  61.15;  Claud.  10.202;  Prop.  3.16.16; 
Ov.  Epist.  11.101;  Stat.  Silv.  1.2.5;  and  many  others. 

"  Cat.  64.25. 

'8  Prop.  4.3.13;  Plin.  A^.  H.  16.75. 

"  Fest.  p.  245  M;  Varro  ap.  Non.  p.  112  M. 

"Test.  p.  288  M:  "rapi  solet  fax  .  .  .  ab  utrisque  amicis."  The  word 
usually  occurs  in  the  plural. 

81  Schol.  Eurip.  Troad.  315;  Eurip.  Iph.  Aul.  732  ff.;  Plioen.  344  ff.;  Medea 
1024  ff.;  Schol.  ApoU.  Arg.  4.808. 

8^  Wachsmuth,  op.  cit.  p.  93. 

83  Ernst  Samter,  Geburt,  Hochzeit  und  Tod,  p.  75. 

8*  Fest.  p.  245  M. 

85  Ad  Verg.  Eel.  8.29. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  17 

nubentes  ducebantur  a  sponsis."  Catullus  opens  his  marriage 
poem8«  with  the  words:  "Vesper  adest,  iuvenes,  consurgite," 
and  later  in  the  same  poem"  states:  "nee  iunxere  priusquam 
se  tuus  extuUt  ardor  (Hespere)."  But  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  because  of  the  variation  in  the  time  of  the  rising  of  the 
evening  star  the  "felix  hora"  was  not  inevitably  after  dark. 
Therefore  we  need  not  agree  entirely  with  Festus'  and  Servius' 
explanation  and  may  perhaps  connect^^  the  use  of  torches  with 
another  important  use  of  fire  in  the  wedding  ceremony,  namely 
the  acceptance  by  the  bride  of  fire  and  water  from  her  husband, 
who  met  her  in  the  atrium^^  of  her  new  home  after  the  deductio. 
So  essential  was  this  formality  that,  like  expressions  with  nubere, 
"aqua  et  igni  accipi''^**  was  indicative  of  the  marriage  rite  when 
used  of  a  woman.  This  use  of  fire  and  water  is  variously  ex- 
plained, but  seems  generally  to  be  thought  of  as  indicative 
of  the  life  which  the  couple  were  to  live  together"  and  of  the 
woman's  part  in  the  home.  Yet  a  deeper  meaning  may  be  dis- 
cerned even  in  the  Roman  authors  themselves,  who  find  in  the 
use  of  these  two  elements  so  essential  to  existence,  an  under- 
lying religious  idea,  which  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  family 
life  of  the  great  Empire. 

The  Romans  conceived  of  the  soul  after  death  as  "hovering 
around  the  place  of  burial  and  requiring  for  its  peace  and  happi- 
ness that  offerings  of  food  and  drink  should  be  made  to  it  regu- 
larly. Should  these  offerings  be  discontinued,  the  soul  would 
cease  to  be  happy  itself,  and  might  become  perhaps  a  spirit  of 
evil.  The  maintenance  of  these  rites  and  ceremonies  devolved 
naturally  upon  the  descendants  from  generation  to  generation, 
whom  the  spirits  in  turn  would  guide  and  guard.  The  Roman 
was  bound,  therefore,  to  perform  these  acts  of  affection  and 
piety  so  long  as  he  lived  himself,  and  bound  no  less  to  provide 
for  their  performance  after  his  death  by  perpetuating  his  race. 


86  62.1. 

"  62.29. 

88  Cf.  Samter,  G.  H.  und  T.,  p.  72. 

8*  Varro  L.  L.  5.61  says:   "in  limine." 

'"  Scaev.  Dig.  24.1.66:  "priusquam  (virgo)  aqua  et  igni  acciperetur,  id 
est  nuptiae  celebrarentur."  Serv.  ad  Verg.  Aen.  4.167:  "aqua  etigni  mariti 
uxores  accipiebant." 

"  Fest.  p.  87  M:  "ut  ignem  atque  aquam  cum  viro  communicaret."  Cf. 
Joachim  Marquardt,  Das  Privatleben  der  Ramer,  I,  p.  56. 


18  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

and  the  family  cult.  A  curse  was  believed  to  rest  upon  the 
childless  man"  .  .  .  who  "had  to  face  the  prospect  of  the 
extinction  of  his  family,  and  his  own  descent  to  the  grave  with 
no  posterity  to  make  him  blessed. "^^  Therefore  it  is  not  strange 
that  we  find  in  the  marriage  ritual  a  representation  of  the  idea 
of  productivity  in  the  form  of  the  "duo  .  .  .  validissima  vitae 
humanae  elementa  ignis  et  aqua."^^ 

Numa  consecrated  perpetual  fire,^^  the  greatest  of  elements," 
as  first  of  all  things,  and  fires  of  some  kind  were  preserved  in 
all  the  principal  temples  of  the  known  world. ^^  Light  was  the 
sign  of  being  and  life;"  it  was  from  the  vitalis  calor^^  that  life 
originated:  "vapor  humidus  omnes  res  creat."^^  All  living 
creatures,  man  as  well  as  animals,  were  produced  from  the  two 
discordant""  elements,  fire  and  water ;"^  the  soul  itself  was  a 
commixture  of  the  two."^  jrij-g  and  water  were  differentiated 
in  this  connection,  fire  being  considered  the  masculine,  and 
water  the  feminine  element  of  creation. "^ 

The  same  idea  of  fire  as  the  symbol  of  life  is  expressed  in 
Artemidorus,"'*  when  he  says  that  a  bright  light  foretold  to 


92  H.  W.  Johnston,  The  Private  Life  of  the  Romans,  pp.  29  ff.  Cf.  W.  W. 
Fowler,  Roman  Festivals,  pp.  307  ff.;  Liv.  Epit.  59;  Gell.  1.6.8;  Cic.  Leg.  3.7. 

53  Isid.  Orig.  13.12.2.  Cf.  Ov.  Met.  1.431:  "ab  his  oriuntur  cimcta  duobus 
(humore  caloreque)."  Ov.  Fast.  4.791  f.,  "quod  in  his  (igni  et  unda)  vitae 
causa  est,  haec  perdidit  exul,  his  nova  fit  coniunx."  Serv.  ad  Verg.  Aen. 
4.103:  "aqua  et  igni  adhibitis;  duobus  maximis  dementis,  natura  coniuncta 
habeatur." 

s^Plut.  Numa  11. 

**  Plin.  A'^.  H.  2.10:  "Nee  de  elementis  video  dubitari,  quattuor  esse  ea: 
igniura  summum." 

9^  R.  P.  Knight,  Symbolic  Language  of  Ancient  Art  and  Mythology;,  p.  26. 

9'  Plut.  Q.  R.  2. 

5*  Cic.  N.  D.  2.24:  "caloris  natura  vim  habet  in  se  vitalem."  Cf.  Isid. 
Orig.  11.1.16;  Curt.  3.5.3;  7.3.15;  8.4.8. 

95  Ov.  Met.  1.432  f.  Cf.  also  Isid.  Orig.  19.6.2:  "nihil  est  enim  pene  quod 
igne  non  efficiatur."  Plin  N.  H.  36.200-1:  "nihil  paene  non  igni  perfici  .  .  . 
Inmensa,  improba  rerum  naturae  portio,  et  in  qua  dubium  sit,  plura  absumat 
an  Dariat."  Varro  L.  L.  5.61:  "igitur  duplex  causa  nascendi  ignis  et  aqua." 
Phn.  A^.  H.  28.80:  "ne  igne  quidem  vincitur,  quo  cuncta."  Phn.  A^.  H.  2.239, 
speaks  of  fire  as  "fecunda." 

I'x'Ov.  Met.  1.432,  says  "pugnax,"  Fast.  4.787:    "contraria  semina." 

"^  Hippoc.  Diaefa  1.4. 

"2  Ibid.  1.8. 

>«n^arro  L.  L.  5.61;  Plut.  Q.  R.  1. 

""  On.  2.9. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  19 

a  sick  person  his  recovery,  a  dim  one  his  death.  It  was  by 
boihng  that  Medea  professed  to  give  back  youth  to  the  aged,"6 
and  Pelops,  after  being  served  as  a  banquet  by  Tantalus,  was 
boiled  by  the  gods  and  made  ahve  and  young  again. ^^^  ^hg 
creative  powers  of  fire  are  invoked  by  the  Hindus  by  means  of 
fire  sticks,  the  use  of  which  is  thought  to  produce  male  off- 
spring."^ Travelers  to  the  Kei  Islands  in  the  East  Indies 
relate  that  when  the  natives  are  away  on  a  voyage,  friends 
keep  a  sacred  fire  in  their  absence,  watching  it  carefully  day 
and  night,  because  its  extinction  would  be  an  evil  omen,  since 
it  is  a  symbol  of  the  life  of  the  absent  ones.^"*  In  like  manner 
the  life  of  Meleager  was  bound  up  with  a  brand  plucked 
from  the  fire  on  the  hearth,  and  when  his  mother  in  a  fit  of 
rage  at  her  son  destroyed  the  brand,  he  died  a  death  of  terrible 
agony. '^"^ 

The  comforting  and  reviving  powers  of  the  sun,"^  of  fire, 
and  of  the  heat  produced  from  both,  must  have  been  among 
the  first  ideas  to  be  grasped  by  the  savage  mind.  These  were 
among  the  principal  sources  of  their  comfort  and  of  their  agri- 
cultural success.  Now,  inasmuch  as  the  earth  is  usually  spir- 
itualized as  feminine, 111  and  since  the  fertility  of  women  and 
the  productive  power  of  the  earth  were  closely  associated  in 
the  primitive  mind,ii2  we  have  an  extension  of  this  idea  in 
the  common  belief,  found  in  the  legends  of  all  races,  that  women 
might  be  impregnated  by  the  sun  or  even  by  the  moon."^  At 
Hindu  marriages"^  in  ancient  times,  and  in  Iran  and  Central 
Asia  today,  11 6  the  bride  is  made  to  expose  herself  to  the  sun's 

lo^Schol.  Aristoph.  Eq.  1321;  Hygin.  Fab.  24;  Paus.  8.11.2.  Fire  was  not 
the  sole  life-giving  element  in  this  case,  since  herbs  also  were  used  by  Medea. 

^«6  Pindar  Olyrnp.  1.40  ff.  with  Schol. 

107  Hyimis  of  the  Atharva-Veda  {Sacred  Books  of  the  East,  vol.  XLII),  trans, 
by  M.  Bloomfield,  p.  97  ff.;  460. 

1°^  Le  P.  H.  Geurtjens,  Le  ceremonial  des  voyages  aux  lies  Keij,  (Anthropos 
V,  1910,  p.  337  ff.) 

lo^Aesch.  Choeph.  604  ff.;  Diod.  Sic.  4.34.6-7;  Ov.  Met.  8.445  ff.;  Hygin. 
Fab.  171,  174. 

11"  Adelaide  S.  Hall,  Important  Symbols,  p.  6,  classifies  the  sun  as  the  sym- 
bol of  the  active  power  of  nature.     Cf.  Ernest  Crawley,  Mystic  Rose,  p.  197. 

111  E.  B.  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture,  II,  245. 

112  Fowler,  op.  cit.  p.  104. 

1"  Hans  Egede,  A  Description  of  Greenland,  p.  209. 

"^  Monier  Williams,  Religious  Thought  and  Life  in  India,  p.  354. 

11^  H.  Vambery,  Das  Turkenvolk,  p.  112. 


20  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

rays.  In  a  modern  Greek  tale  the  Sun  bestowed  a  daughter 
upon  a  childless  woman,"^  and  a  Sicilian  legend  tells  of  a  young 
princess  who  conceived  a  child  by  the  Sun.^^^  The  old  Greek 
story  of  Danae,"*  imprisoned  by  her  father  in  punishment  for 
her  disobedience,  and  impregnated  by  Zeus,  who  came  to  her 
in  a  shower  of  gold  (probably  standing  for  sunshine),  perhaps 
belongs  to  the  same  class  of  tales, 

Vesta,  the  personification  of  fire,"^  is  identified  with  the 
earth,  120  probably  in  its  productive  aspect.  Rain  when  accom- 
panied by  lightning  was  thought  by  the  Greeks  to  be  more 
nutritive  and  prolific, ^^i  and  it  was  probably  with  some  such 
idea  as  this  that  the  Arcadians  sacrificed  to  thunder,  lightning 
and  the  tempest.'"  Krishna,  in  an  old  Hindu  poem,  says: 
"I  am  the  thunderbolt;  I  am  the  fire  residing  in  the  bodies  of 
all  things  which  have  life."i23  Vulcan  himself,  the  personi- 
fication of  fire,  may  originally,  thinks  Preller,'24  have  been 
thought  of  as  a  beneficent  nature  spirit,  perhaps  the  warm 
fertilizing  power  of  the  earth.  Closely  connected  with  the  cult 
of  Vulcan  was  the  cult  of  Bona  Dea  (Maia),  that  rather  mys- 
terious goddess;  for  it  was  the  Flamen  Vulcanalis  who  sacrificed 
to  her  on  May  1,  and  she  is  addressed  in  invocations  as  Maia 
Volcani.12  5  Now  Bona  Dea  seems  certainly  to  have  been  a 
protective  deity  of  the  female  sex,  the  Earth-mother,  a  goddess 
of   fertility. '2 6     Men   were   excluded   from   her   rites,'"   which 

11^  J.  G.  von  Hahn,  Griechische  und  alhanesische  Marc/ten,  no.  41,  vol.  I,  p.  245. 

"'  Laura  Gonzenbach,  Sicilianische  Mdrchen,  no.  28,  vol.  I,  pp.  177  ff. 

"8  Soph.  Antig.  944  ff.;  Apollod.  Bibliotheca  2.4.1. 

115  Ov.  Fast.  6.291:  "Nee  tu  aliud  Vestam  quam  vivam  intellege  flammam." 
August  Preuner,  Hestia-Vesta,  p.  221,  speaks  of  Vesta  as  the  "Gottheit  des 
Feuers,  sofern  religiose,  ethische  Ideen  sich  in  demselben  abspiegeln,  nicht 
des  Feuers  als  blossen  Elements."  Cf.  C.  Schwenk,  Die  Sinnbildcr  der  alien 
Volker,  p.  117. 

12°  Ov.  Fast.  6.267:  "Vesta  eadem  est  quae  Terra.  Subest  vigil  ignis 
utrique."     Cf.  August.  Civ.  7.16. 

121  Plut.  Sy7np.  4.2.1. 

122  Paus.  8.29.2. 

123  Bhagavat-Gita  X. 

12^  L.  Preller,  Ramische  Mythologie,  II,  p.  149. 
126  Gell.  13.23.2. 

126  Fowler,  op.  cit.  p.  71,  104,  106.  Cf.  Macr.  Sat.  1.12.21:  "Auctor  est 
Cornelius  Labeo  huic  Maiae,  id  est  terrae,  aedem  Kalendis  Mails  dedicatam 
sub  nomine  Bonae  Deae." 

127  Cic.  Dom.  105;  Har.  Resp.  8,  37,  38;  Ov.  Ars  3.637;  Tib.  1.6.24;  Plut. 
Caes.  9;  Q.  R.  20. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  21 

were  conducted  by  the  Vestals.^^^  The  significance  of  the 
presence  of  these  priestesses  of  fire  is  not  to  be  overlooked,  since 
all  their  public  services  were  rendered  at  festivals  relating  to 
fruitfulness.^2' 

Yellow  as  the  Chromatic  Symbol  of  Fire  and  of  Life 

In  view  of  all  these  facts,  and  of  the  natural  association  of 
ideas  to  which  they  lead,  it  is  not  illogical  to  suppose  that  orig- 
inally these  concepts  pertaining  to  the  color  yellow,  to  fire, 
and  ultimately,  perhaps,  to  the  sun,  were  connected  in  the 
primitive  Roman  mind,  although  the  Romans  of  later  times 
may  not  have  realized  it.  It  is  true  that  statements  in  literature 
which  make  any  connection  between  yellow  and  fire  are  de- 
cidedly few,  although  Isidore""  concisely  states  that  the  use  of 
yellow  on  race  horses  was  symbolic  of  the  patronage  of  fire 
and  of  the  Sun.  It  was  also  with  reins  of  yellow  that  the  sun-god 
guided  his  horses  on  their  daily  journey  through  the  heavens, "^ 
and  Vulcan,  the  personification  of  fire,  is  called  luteus^^^  In 
China  today  one  of  the  oldest  divinities,  the  "Herdfiirst"  or 
"Kukengott,"  called  also,  says  Nagel,  "Wang-ti..  der  gelbe 
Kaiser,"  is  represented  by  the  use  of  paper  striped  with  red 
and  yellow.i" 

The  Flaminica  Dialis,  as  we  have  seen,  wore  the  yellow  flain- 
meuni.^^*  To  her  and  her  husband,  it  is  thought,  may  have 
been  assigned  in  early  times  the  duty  of  kindling  and  caring 
for  the  sacred  fire."^    At  least  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 


'2s  Plut.  Cic.  19-20;  Dio,  37.45. 

129  Fowler,  op.  cit.  p.  71;  Smith's  Did.  s.  v.  Vestales.  Hans  Dragendorff, 
Rheinisches  Museum  filr  Philologie,  LI,  p.  294,  considers  that  the  dress  of 
the  Vestals  was  originally  identical  with  that  of  the  bride. 

^^"Orig.  18.41.2:  "  luteos,  id  est  croceos,  igni  et  soli  .  .  .  sacraverunt."  Cf. 
M.  H.  de  Charencey,  Symholique  romain,  p.  8. 

"' Claud.  22.471:  "(Sol)     .     .     .     lutea  lora  iubasque  Subligat  alipedum." 

"2  Juv.  10.132.  In  Maeterlinck's  Bluebird  the  spirit  of  fire  is  clothed  in 
red  and  yellow.  The  robin,  on  account  of  its  color,  was  sacred  to  Thor,  the 
god  of  lightning  (J.  A.  Farrer,  Primitive  Manners  and  Customs,  p.  293). 

133  A.  Nagel,  Arch.  Rel.  XI,  1908,  p.  24,  30.  Cf .  A.  Hall's  classification 
of  yellow,  Important  Symbols,  pp.  11  f.;  and  that  of  Charencey,  op.  cit.  p.  11. 

i^-iFest.  p.  92  M:  "flammeo  vestimento  flaminica  utebatur,  id  ets  Dialis 
uxor  et  lovis  sacerdos,  cui  telum  fulminis  eodem  erat  colore."  Cf.  Fest. 
p.  89  M. 

"6  J.  G.  Frazer,  The  Golden  Bough,  Magic  Art,  II,  p.  246. 


22  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

sanctity  of  the  fire  which  was  kept  by  the  Flamen,  as  is  proved 
by  the  rule  that  it  might  not  be  taken  from  his  house  except  for 
the  purpose  of  sacrifice. ^^^  The  regulation  that  he  could  not 
be  absent  from  his  home  even  for  a  single  night^"  also  empha- 
sizes the  importance  ascribed  to  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 
That  the  rules  of  life  imposed  upon  the  Flamen  Dialis  were 
very  similar  to  those  observed  by  the  Brahmans,  the  fire  priests 
of  India/3^  might  furnish  additional  evidence  for  the  idea  that  the 
original  function  of  the  Flamen  and  his  wife  was  the  care  of  the 
sacred  fire,  and  this  parallelism  is  the  more  striking  if,  as  some 
scholars  hold,  the  names  Brahman  and  Flamen  are  philologi- 
cally  identical. ^'^ 

In  one  instance  at  least,  the  ancients  seem  to  have  concisely 
connected  in  thought  not  only  fire,  but  also  yellow  and  the 
idea  of  life;  for  the  possession  of  the  golden-yellow  hair  (flava 
coma),  so  characteristic  of  divinities  and  heroes,""  was  thought 
to  confer  long  life  and  strength.  Poseidon  made  Pterelaus 
immortal  by  bestowing  upon  him  a  golden  hair  upon  which 
his  life  was  dependent. "^  In  modern  Greek  folklore  the 
strength  and  very  life  of  a  man  are  contingent  upon  the  preser- 
vation of  three  golden  hairs  upon  his  head,  and  when  these 
are  pulled  out  he  grows  weak  and  is  open  to  the  attacks  of  his 
enemies,  at  whose  hands  he  finally  meets  death. "^  In  the 
Hymns  of  the  Atharva-Veda  the  goddess  of  misfortune  is  eu- 
phemistically addressed  as  "golden-locked,"  and  the  goddess 
of  grudge  and  avarice  as  "gold-complexioned,  lovely  one,  who 
rests  on  golden  cushions     .     .     .     who  wears  golden  robes. ""^ 


^^^  Gell.  10.15.7:  "  Ignem  e  flaminia,  id  est  flaminis  Dialis  domo,  nisi  sacrum 
efferri  ius  non  est."     Cf.  Fest.  106  M. 

i"Liv.  5.52.13  f.  Gell.  10.15.14  says:  "de  eo  lecto  trinoctium  continuum 
non  decubat";  and  Tac.  Aym.  3.71.3:    "plus  quam  binoctium  abesset." 

"^  Frazer,  I.  c. 

"^  P.  Kretschmer,  Einleitung  in  die  Geschichte  der  griechischen  Sprache, 
pp.  127  f.;  O.  Schrader,  Reallexikon  der  indogermanischen  Alter tumskuyide, 
pp.  637  f.  Th.  Mommsen,  Hist.  (New  York  1900)  I,  p.  215,  and  Fowler, 
op.  cit.  p.  147,  derive  flamen  from  flare,  while  Walde,  op.  cit.  s.  v.  flamen, 
derives  it  from  a  different  form,  *fladmen  or  *fladsmen. 

i"See  K.  F.  Smith  on  Tihullus,  1.1.15  and  W.  P.  Mustard's  <Sanna2aro, 
p.  78,  n.  84,  for  instances. 

"1  Apollod.  BibUotheca,  2.4.5,  7. 

i«  J.  G.  von  Hahn,  op.  cit.  I,  p.  217;  II,  p.  282. 

1"  SBE.,  vol.  XLII,  p.  173. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  23 

The  Torch  as  a  Symbol  of  Life 
If,  as  seems  to  have  been  the  case,  yellow  is  to  be  connected 
with  fire,  and  fire  was  the  symbol  of  life,  let  us  return  to  the 
marriage  ceremony  and  see  if  the  same  thought  is  connected 
with  the  use  of  the  nuptial  torch.  It  was  a  common  belief, 
says  Servius,  that  whoever  carried  a  marriage  torch  was  des- 
tined to  long  life."^  ''Hier,"  says  Rossbach,"^  'Vird  offenbar 
die  Hochzeitfackel  als  Lebensflamme  gefasst."  Festus  tells 
us,"«  furthermore,  that  nuptial  torches  were  carried  in  honor 
of  Ceres.  This  is  not  a  strange  statement,  in  spite  of  Mar- 
quardt,"^  since  Ceres  represents  in  Roman  religion  the  "gen- 
erative power  of  nature, ""8  an  idea,  as  we  are  beginning  to  see, 
perfectly  in  accord  with  the  Roman  concept  of  the  marriage 
ceremony.  Etymologically  also  the  name  Ceres  contains  the 
same  notion,  being  probably  connected,  as  Servius  thought, 
with  creare.^^^ 

In  general,  torches  were  the  symbol  not  only  of  life,  but  of 
its  termination.!^*'  The  torch  held  erect,  as  at  the  wedding, 
symbohzed  the  fullness  of  life,  while  reversed  it  indicated  death.^^i 
It  was  perhaps  from  the  appearance  of  this  reversed  torch  in  a 
vision  that  Polynices  inferred  his  own  approaching  death.^^^ 
The  life  of  the  Roman  was,  as  it  were,  bounded  by  two  torches; 
"vivimus  insignes  inter  utramque  facem,"  says  Propertius.i^^ 

>"Serv.  ad  Verg.  Ed.  8.29:  "Corneae  sane  faces,  quae  quasi  diutissimae 
luceant.  Quas  rapiunt  tamquam  vitae  praesidia;  namque  his  qui  sunt  diutius 
feruntur  vixisse." 

»"  Op.  cit.  p.  340. 

!"«  Fest.  p.  87  M. 

"'Op.  cit.  I,  p.  55,  n.  7:   "scheint  nicht  bekannt  zu  sein." 

"8  Fowler,  op.  cit.  p.  73.  Cf.  Rossbach,  op.  cit.  p.  340,  who  considers  that 
the  "Lebensflamme  .  .  .  der  Ceres  heilig  ist,  die  als  agrarische  Gottin  das 
Leben  erhalt." 

"9  Serv.  ad  Verg.  Georg.  1.7:  "Ceres  a  creando  dicta."  Cf.  Fowler,  op.  cit. 
p.  73. 

i^oBottiger,  op.  cit.  p.  142:  "So  wird  die  Fackel  das  doppelte  Symbol  des 
Lebens  wie  des  Todes." 

i"SU.  2.184:  "Adfecit  leto,  taedaeque  ad  funera  versae."  Cf.  Sil.  13.547; 
Ov.  Met.  10.6-7. 

"2  Stat.  Theb.  11.142:  "Coniugis  Argeiae  lacera  cum  lampade  maestam 
Effigiem." 

15^4.11.46.  Cf.  Ov.  Fast.  2.561  f.:  "Conde  tuas,  Hymenaee,  faces  et  ab 
ignibus  atris  Aufer!  habent  alias  maesta  sepulcra  faces."  Epist.  21.172:  "Et 
face  pro  thalami  fax  mihi  mortis  adest."  Apul.  Flor.  16.  p.  66:  "prius  ad 
funebrem  facem  quam  ad  nuptialem  venisse."  Cf.  Marquardt,  op.  cit.  I,  p. 
55,  n.  2. 


24  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

This  identification  of  life  with  the  flame  is  found  in  the  modern 
Greek  custom  of  keeping  the  "unsleeping  lamp"  (x6  ax,o([jLT)To 
/.avB'^Xt)  burning,  either  in  the  room  where  death  took  place 
or  at  the  grave,  for  a  variable  period  of  time.  Only  with  the 
extinction  of  the  flame  comes,  it  is  believed,  unconsciousness 
of  the  world.  A  few  couplets  from  a  modern  funeral  dirge 
may  well  illustrate  this: 

"And  when  the  priests  with  solemn  song  march  toward 
the  grave  with  me, 
Steal  thou  out  from  thy  mother's  side,  and  light  me 

torches  three; 
And  when  the  priests  shall  quench  again  those  lights 

for  me, — ah  then. 
Then,  like  the  breath  of  roses,  sweet,  thou  passest 
from  my  ken."'^^ 
We  should  like  to  believe,  therefore,  that  the  use  of  the  mar- 
riage torch  as  a  symbol  of  hfe  at  the  wedding  ceremony  served 
to  intensify  the  significance  of  the  color  yellow  at  the  same 
ceremony. 

Yellow  Used  by  Women 
We  have  stated^^^^  that  yellow  was  a  favorite  color  of  dress 
among  the  women  of  Rome  and  was,  in  fact,  as  Pliny  says,  all 
but  confined  to  women.  This  conclusion  is  based  upon  a  study 
of  certain  articles  of  clothing  to  which  the  investigation  of 
the  color  yellow  must  necessarily  lead,  and  of  which  only  a 
brief  outline  need  be  given.  There  were  in  use  at  Rome,  and 
apparently  also  in  Greece,^"  several  garments  which,  to  judge 
from  their  names  alone,  must  certainly  have  been  yellow.  These 
were  the  crocota,  the  crocotula,  the  epicrocum,^^^  and  the  calthula. 
All  these  take  their  names  from  yellow  flowers  which,  no  doubt, 
they  imitated  in  their  color.^"    Their  use  was,  for  the  most 

^^^  Quoted  from  the  version  by  A.  T.  G.  Passow,  Popul.  Carm.  no.  377A; 
see  J.  C.  Lawson,  Modern  Greek  Folklore  and  Ancient  Greek  Religion,  p.  508  ff. 
Cf.  the  use  on  the  Haterii  ReUef  of  torches  around  the  bed  on  which  the 
body  of  the  dead  Hes,  Daremberg-Saglio,  Did.  s.  v.  funus,  fig.  3360. 

isia  See  note  71. 

1^5  Creuzer,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  596,  n.  1.  For  illustrations  see  0.  M.  von  Stackel- 
berg,  Die  Grdber  der  Hellenen,  pi.  44.2;  46.2. 

1"  Fest.  p.  82  M. 

1"  Non.  p.  548  M:  "Caltulam  et  crocotulam,  utrumque  a  generibus  florura 
translatum,  a  caltha  et  croco."  Veil.  2.82.4:  "crocota  velatus  aurea."  Another 
manuscript  reading  on  this  passage  gives  "corona."  Non.  p.  549  M :  "Crocota, 
crocei  coloris  vestis." 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  25 

part,  confined  to  women/^^  and  consequently  men  who  wore 
them  were  considered  foppish  and  were  taunted  with  effem- 
inacyi^^  or  with  voluptuousness. i^"  Thus  we  find  the  actor 
wearing  the  crocota,^^^  whereby  the  ill  repute  in  which  he  was 
proverbially  held'^^  was  heightened.  The  preference  of  the 
Roman  woman  for  yellow  is  seen  in  the  wall  paintings  dis- 
covered at  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii.  In  the  famous  mytho- 
logical picture  in  the  House  of  the  Tragic  Poet,  Iphigenia, 
when  about  to  be  offered  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  goddess,  is  pic- 
tured in  a  yellow  robe.^^'  In  another  Pompeian  wall  painting, 
Medea,  when  meditating  the  murder  of  her  children,  is  likewise 
dressed  in  that  color.^^"  This  very  extensive  use  of  yellow 
in  women's  garments  cannot  have  been  without  some  reason 
and  fundamental  significance.  We  believe  that  it  confirms 
the  truth  of  our  correlation  of  the  ideas  of  yellow,  fire  and  life. 

Fire  as  a  Symbol  of  Purification 

Another  idea  besides  that  of  productivity  attaches  itself 
inseparably  to  the  symbolic  use  of  fire  and  its  chromatic  symbol 
yellow,  and  that  is  the  conception  of  flame  as  an  agent  of  puri- 
fication.^^^    This  is  no  new  notion  in  religion,  and  is  especially 

158  Non.  p.  538  M  (Plaut.  Axd.  frag.  1):  "pro  illis  crocotis,  strophiis,  sumptu 
uxorio."  Ciris,  251  f. :  "puellam,  Quae  prius  in  tenui  fuerat  succincta  crocota." 
Plaut.  Epid.  231;  Non.  p.  548  M;  Aristoph.  Lijs.  44  ff.;  Thesm.  945  f.;  Ecd. 
878  f.,  331;  Pollux,  7.56  (ed.  Bekker) 

159  Cic.  Harus.  Resp.  44:  "P.  Clodius  a  crocota  ...  a  muliebribus  soleis 
purpureisque  fasceolis  ...  est  factus  repente  popularis."  Non.  p.  318  M: 
"Varro  de  sermone  latino  lib.  Ill:  'Utrumque  mulieres,  et  epicrocum  viri 
quoque  habitarunt.'"  Aristoph.  Thesm.  137-8,  945,  253.  The  "vestis  picta 
croco"  of  Verg.  Aen.  9.614,  is  probably  the  crocota,  used  as  a  taunt  for 
effeminacy. 

ISO  Varro  L.  L.  7.53. 

161  Apul.  Apol.  13. 

162  Cic.  Arch.  10;  Nep.  Praef.  5;  Suet.  Tib.  35. 

163  Creuzer,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  596,  n.  1;  Walters,  Art  of  the  Romans,  pi.  42; 
Wolfgang  Helbig,  Wandgemdlde,  §1304. 

16*  G.  F.  Hill,  Illustrations  of  School  Classics,  §156.  Cf.  Pierre  Gusman, 
Pompeii,  pi.  1. 

i66Serv.  ad  Verg.  Aen.  6.741:  "Unde  etiam  in  sacris  omnibus  tres  sunt 
istae  purgationes:    nam  aut  taeda  purgant  et  sulphure,  aut  aqua  abluunt." 

Cf.  Lev.  VI,  30:  "And  no  sin  offering  .  .  .  shall  be  eaten:  it  shall 
be  burnt  in  the  fire." 


26  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

familiar  to  us  because  of  the  Jewish  teachings  in  regard  to  it; 
but  the  same  thought  may  be  traced  in  almost  all  of  the  re- 
ligious systems  of  the  world,  even  to  the  present  day.  Possibly 
the  origin  of  this  idea  of  purity  and  cleansing  power  is  to  be 
found  in  the  use  of  fire  in  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices.  The 
fire  was  thought  to  destroy  the  material  part  of  the  sacrifices 
and  by  virtue  of  its  own  inherent  purity  to  make  them  fit  for 
the  gods.^^«  Pursuing  this  idea  further,  the  ancients  believed 
that  in  the  same  manner  fire  purged  away  the  mortal  parts  of 
men,  leaving  only  the  immortal,  and  for  this  reason  a  death 
by  fire  came  to  be  regarded  and  sought  as  a  kind  of  apothe- 
osis.'" Hence  goddesses  tried  to  confer  immortality  upon 
mortals  by  burning  them  by  night, '^^  but  their  kind  purposes 
generally  failed  of  accomplishment  because  of  the  interference 
of  some  terrified  mortal  who  was  ignorant  of  the  design  of  the 
heavenly  visitor. 

It  was  a  custom,  common  in  antiquity,  annually  to  extinguish 
and  renew  the  sacred  fire  kept,  in  the  case  of  the  Romans,  in 
the  temple  of  Vesta,  and  renewed  yearly  on  March  l.^^'  Each 
year  the  Greeks  imported  fresh  fire  from  Delos  to  Lemnos,'^" 
and  similar  practices  are  found  among  the  South  American 
Indians,!'!  and  among  the  Japanese. ^^  In  all  these  cases  there 
is  the  idea  of  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  purified  hfe  with  the 
new  and  pure  flame.  This  purificatory  purpose  of  the  flame 
seems  to  have  been  well  understood  by  the  Romans,  as  is  shown 
by  its  use  particularly  in  the  festivals  of  the  yearly  calendar. 

The  instruments  of  purification  (februa  casta), ^''^  that  is,  the 
blood  of  the  October  horse  mixed  with  the  ashes  of  the  unborn 
calves  burnt  at  the  Fordicidia  (April  15),  were  kept  in  the 
Penus  Vestae.  "Vesta  dabit.  Vestae  munere  purus  eris,"  says 
Ovid.!'*     At  the  Parilia  (April  21)  these  were  sprinkled  over  a 

'^^  lamblichus,  De  Mysteriis,  V,  12. 

i"Lucian,  De  Morte  Peregrini,  25  fif.;  Diog.  Laer.  8.2.69  ff. 
!«8piut.  Isis  et  Osiris,  16;  Ov.  Fast.  AMI  ff.;  Homer,  Hymn  to  Demeter, 
231  ff.;  ApoUod.  Bibliotheca,  1.5.1;  ApoD.  Rhod.  Argon.  4.865  ff. 
"9  Macr.  Sat.  1.12.6;  Ov.  Fast.  3.135  ff. 
1^0  Philostratus,  Heroica,  19.14  (ed.  Kayser). 
1"  C.  C.  Jones,  Antiquities  of  the  Southern  Indians,  p.  21. 
"2  S.  Reinach,  Orpheus,  p.  223. 
i"Ov.  Fast.  2.19-46. 
^■"^  Fast.  4.732. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  27 

bonfire.  The  people  leaped  over  the  flames  and  drove  their 
flocks  through  them,'^^  ^  rite  in  which  Ovid  himself  took  part.'^^ 
The  object  of  the  whole  ceremony  was  obviously  purification/^^ 
and  we  find  that  the  Vestals  very  appropriately  played  an  im- 
portant part;  for,  as  we  have  noted,  they  had  in  their  keeping 
the  fehrua  casta,  the  holy  instruments  of  purification. 

It  is  perhaps  an  analogous  practice  to  that  of  passing  through 
the  fire  for  the  purpose  of  purification  which  is  so  bitterly  attacked 
in  the  Old  Testament.!^*  The  same  rite  is  still  practiced  in 
India,!"  and  survives  in  the  Beltane  fires  of  Ireland,  Scotland, 
northern  England  and  Cornwall,  where  the  people  leap  through 
the  flames  and  cause  their  cattle  to  do  so  in  order  to  cleanse 
them  of  disease,  in  quite  the  old  Roman  fashion.  The  crops 
within  the  radius  of  the  light  from  these  fires  are  considered 
immune  from  sorcery  for  the  space  of  a  year.i^o  xhe  Hotten- 
tots purify  their  sheep  in  the  same  way  by  driving  them  through 
the  fire, '81  and  among  the  Tartars  it  is  the  custom  to  pass  through 
two  fires. '82 

The  same  notion,  as  well  as  that  of  productivity,  is  probably 
also  to  be  connected  with  the  use  of  this  element  in  the  mar- 
riage ceremony.  "Fax  ex  spinu  alba  praefertur,  quod  pur- 
gationis  causa  adhibetur,"  says  Varro.^s"  This  power  of  puri- 
fication bordered  closely  on  magic,  as  the  torch  possessed  the 
ability,  both  in  the  Greek  and  in  the  Roman  conception,  to 
drive  away  evil  spirits.'^''     It  is  rather  this  idea  of  its  magical 

176  Ov.  Fast.  4.733  ff.,  esp.  805. 
"6  Ibid.  4.727. 
1"  Fowler,  op.  cit.  p.  83. 

"8Lei>.  XVIII,  21:   "And  thou  shalt  not  let  any  of  thy  seed  pass  through 
the  fire  to  Moloch."     Cf.  Ezeh.  XVI,  21;  XXIII,  37;  Is.  L,  11. 
17^  T.  Maurice,  Antiquities  of  India,  V,  p.  1075. 

180  Forbes  LesUe,  Early  Races  of  Scotland,  I,  pp.  115  ff.;  J.  A.  Farrer,  op.  cit. 
pp.  297  ff. 

181  C.  P.  Thunberg,  in  Pinkerton's  Voyages  and  Travels,  XVI,  p.  143. 

182  R.  Kerr,  Voyages,  I,  p.  131. 

183  Apud  Charisium,  I,  p.  144.21  Keil. 

Cf.  Juv.  2.157-8:    "cuperent  lustrari,  si  qua  darentur 

Sulpura  cum  taedis  et  si  foret  umida  laurus." 
Novius  per  Non.  p.  516  M:    "Sequere  me!  Puriter  volo  facias;  igni  atque 
aqua  hunc  volo  accipe." 

if^Samter,  G.  H.  und  T.,  p.  74;  Ervvin  Rohde,  Psyche,  I,  p.  237.3;  J.  E. 
Harrison,  Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of  Greek  Religion,  p.  39.  The  Timorlaut 
natives  of  the  East  Indies  place  infants  by  the  fire  to  drive  evil  from  them, 
Ernest  Crawley,  Mystic  Rose,  p.  226.     Cf.  Ov.  Fast.  6.165  ff. 


28  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

potency  that  led  to  the  use  of  fire  in  the  marriage  ceremony, 
than  any  more  spiritual  idea,  such  as  a  purification  of  the  heart 
and  soul,  as  Schlesinger^^^  thinks;  for  of  such  a  spiritual  con- 
ception the  early  Romans  would  scarcely  have  been  capable. 

With  these  thoughts  in  mind  it  is  easier  to  interpret  the  legal 
formula  "interdictio  aquae  et  ignis,"  the  sentence  which  made 
of  the  offender  an  outcast  without  the  right  to  exercise  the 
privileges  of  a  citizen.  If,  as  is  very  common,  the  legal  ex- 
pression for  marriage  from  the  woman's  viewpoint,  "aqua  et 
igni  accipi,"  is  interpreted  as  symbolical  of  the  necessities  of 
life  which  she  was  to  share  with  her  husband,  the  corresponding 
legal  phrase  of  the  interdictio  must  then  be  understood  as  mean- 
ing merely  an  exclusion  from  those  same  rights.  ^^^  But  still 
bearing  in  mind  the  purificatory  power  of  fire  (and  that  of 
water),  we  may  more  logically  understand  the  phrase  as  sym- 
bolic of  a  pure  society  which  the  offender  would  defile  by  fur- 
ther use  of  these  elements,  and  for  this  reason  he  is  cut  off  from 
all  share  in  that  society,  as  being  unclean  and  unworthy  of 
sharing  in  its  blessings.^^^ 

Recalling  our  formula :  yellow  =  fire  =  life,  we  conclude  that 
the  use  of  yellow  conveyed  the  further  idea  of  purification 
to  the  Roman  mind. 

Yellow  in  the  Cults  of  the  Gods 
One  other  ceremonial  use  of  yellow,  to  which  the  foregoing 
discussion  especially  relates,  lies  in  the  crocota  of  Bacchus. 
That  the  god  was  represented  and  thought  of  as  robed  in  yellow 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  Antony,  in  the  garb  of  Bacchus,  "velatus 
crocota  aurea,"  rides  in  his  triumphal  chariot,i^^  and  Seneca^^^ 
also  describes  the  god  in  the  guise  of  a  maiden,  his  robe  held  in 
place  by  a  yellow  girdle.  In  Greek  literature  we  find  the  same 
thing.  13"     Of  this  use  of  the  color  in  the  ceremonial  robe  of 

1*^  Max  Schlesinger,  Geschichte  des  Symbols,  p.  251. 

i8«  Isid.  Orig.  5.27.38:  "Ideo  autem  Romani  aquam  et  ignem  interdicebant 
quibusdam  damnatis,  quia  aer  et  aqua  cunctis  patent  et  omnibus  data  sunt; 
ut  illi  non  fruerentur  quod  omnibus  per  naturam  concessum  est." 

18'  Rudolph  von  Ihering,  Geist  des  rom.  Rechts,  I,  p.  288. 

188  Veil.  2.82.4:  "crocotaque  velatus  aurea,  et  thyrsum  tenens  cothurnisque 
succinctus  curru  velut  Liber  Pater  vectus  asset."  There  is  manuscript 
authority  for  the  reading  corona  for  crocota  in  this  passage. 

185  Sen.  Oed.  418  ff. 

150  Pollux,  4.117  (ed.  Bekker);  Callix.  ap.  Ath.  5.  p.  198  c;  Aristoph.  Ran. 
45-6,  and  Schol. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  29 

the  god  there  may  be  two  explanations.  We  find  the  Roman 
god  Liber  associated  with  Ceres  and  Libera  in  the  great  triad 
representative  of  fertility.  The  later  confusion  by  the  Romans 
of  the  native  Italian  divinity  Liber  with  the  imported  Greek 
Bacchus  or  Dionysus  has  rendered  it  difficult  for  scholars  to 
decide  what  were  the  original  attributes  of  the  native  Italic, 
god.  But,  falling  back  on  the  name  as  an  ultimate  source, 
authorities  agree  that  it  has  something  of  the  same  basic  mean- 
ing as  genius,  and  means  a  "creative,  productive  spirit,  full  of 
blessing"  and  hence  generous  and  free."i  In  Samothracian 
genealogy  the  Greek  Dionysus  was  the  son  of  Hephaestus,  the 
god  of  fire,i82  ^nd  was  himself  a  god  of  nature. ^^^  in  view  of 
these  circumstances  it  is  quite  possible  to  explain  the  yellow 
robe  of  Bacchus  as  the  symbol  of  his  earlier  attribute  of  pro- 
ductivity. But  the  second  idea  of  which  yellow  was  symbolic 
suggests  another  explanation.  Yellow  was  used  in  the  worship 
of  a  number  of  deities  and  it  may  have  been  conceived  as  being 
indicative  of  purity,  because  the  devotee,  in  coming  into  the 
presence  of  the  god,  wished  to  be  purified.  With  this  idea, 
then,  we  find  its  use  along  with  fire  in  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Egyptian  mysteries.  The  devotee,  in  the  ceremony  of  initia- 
tion to  the  worship  of  Isis,  bore  a  torch  in  imitation  of  the  Sun,"* 
and  the  worshiper  of  Osiris,  as  part  of  the  mystic  dress,  wore 
a  yellow  palla.^^^  The  color  must  have  played  an  important 
part  also  in  the  dress  of  the  worshipers  of  Cybele,  whose  cere- 
monies were  of  an  especially  mystic  and  esoteric  nature,  for 
her  priests  wore  not  only  the  crocota  but  also  yellow  shoes, "^ 
so  that  a  procession  of  worshipers  such  as  Apuleius  describes 
must  indeed  have  been  a  brilliant  spectacle.  The  custom  of 
using  the  color  in  the  garments  of  those  devoted  to  a  god,  or 
of  representing  the  deity  himself  as  dressed  in  yellow,  is  not 
confined  either  to  Greece  and  Rome  or  to  their  age,  for  Vishnu 

1"  Fowler,  op.  cit.  p.  55;  G.  Wissowa,  Myth.  Lex.  s.  v.  Liber,  p.  2022;  E. 
Aust,  Lex.  s.  V.  Juppiter,  p.  662;  August.  Civ.  7.16. 

>^2  Creuzer,  op.  cit.  IV,  p.  22. 

19'  Ibid.  I,  p.  468;  IV,  p.  125. 

•9*  Apul.  Met.  11.24:  "At  manu  dextera  gerebam  flammis  adultam  facem 
.  .  .  Sic  ad  instar  Solis  .  .  ." 

"^  Tib.  1.7.46:  "fusa  sed  ad  teneros  lutea  palla  pedes." 

""  Apul.  Met.  8.27:  "mitellis  et  crocotis  et  carbasinis  et  bombycinis  iniecti, 
.     .     .     pedes  luteis  inducti  calceis." 


30  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

wore  yellow/"  as  do  the  Buddhist  monks  of  today."^  What- 
ever the  significance  of  the  employment  of  yellow  among  other 
peoples,  a  consideration  of  the  evidence  of  its  uses  among  the 
Romans,  suggests  that  the  purificatory  value  attributed  to  it^^^ 
made  its  use  especially  appropriate  in  these  divine  ceremonies. 

Yellow  in  Magic 

The  only  remaining  use  of  yellow  with  which  the  Romans  were 
familiar  was  not  ritualistic,  but  was  an  instance  of  what  Frazer^"" 
calls  "homeopathic  magic."  The  Greek  word  'txxepoi;  signified 
at  the  same  time  jaundice  and  a  bird  of  a  greenish  yellow  color, 
the  sight  of  which  was  thought  to  cure  a  jaundiced  person, 
with,  however,  disastrous  results  for  the  bird,  since  it  died  im- 
mediately.201  A  like  belief  was  attached  to  the  stone  curlew 
(xapaBpt6(;),202  g^jgo  a  yellowish  bird,  with  a  large  yellow  eye.^^^ 
It  was  probably  this  yellow  eye  which  was  thought  to  possess 
curative  power,  since  Plutarch  says  that  the  bird  received 
the  malady  to  itself  through  the  eyesight.  Bird  fanciers  kept 
these  birds  covered,  lest  a  jaundiced  person  should  look  at 
them  and  be  cured  for  nothing.^"^  Wine  in  which  the  feet  of 
a  hen  had  been  washed  (the  hen  must  be  one  with  yellow  feet) 
was  also  believed  to  be  a  cure  for  the  disease. ^^^  A  stone,  the 
hue  of  which  resembled  that  of  jaundice,  was  thought  to  act 
as  a  cure, 2°^  while  in  Germany  yellow  turnips,  gold  coins,  gold 
rings,  saffron  and  other  yellow  things  are  still  believed  to  be 
remedies  for  this  ailment.^o^  Almost  an  exact  parallel  is  found 
among  the  Hindus,  who  tried  by  magic  to  banish  the  yellow 
color  of  the  disease  to  yellow  creatures  and  objects.     The  pa- 


1"  Portal,  op.  cit.  p.  69. 

"8K.  F.  Smith  on  Tihullus.  1.7.46. 

199  Qf  pgQ  LXVIII,  13:  "Though  ye  have  lien  among  the  pots,  yet  shall 
ye  be  as  the  wings  of  a  dove  covered  with  silver,  and  her  feathers  with  yellow 
gold." 

200  Op.  cit.  I,  p.  79. 

201  Plin.  A^.  H.  30.94. 

202Plut.  Quaest.  Conviv.  V,  7.2,8  ff.;  Ael.  A^.  A.  17.13. 

203  Alfred  Newton,  Diet,  of  Birds,  p.  129. 

20"  Schol.  Aristoph.  Av.  266;  Schol.  Plato,  Gorg.  p.  494  B. 

205  Plin.  N.  H.  30.93. 

206 /bid.  37.170. 

20'  Frazer,  op.  cit.  I,  p.  81. 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow  31 

tient  was  daubed  with  yellow  porridge  and  put  upon  a  bed, 
to  the  foot  of  which  were  tied  three  yellow  birds  by  a  yellow 
string.  Into  these  birds  the  malady  was  thought  to  pass,  after 
a  spell  had  been  uttered  by  the  priest^o^:  "Up  to  the  Sun  shall 
go  thy  jaundice,  in  the  color  of  the  red  bull  do  we  envelope 
thee.  .  .  Into  parrots,  thrushes  and  yellow  wag-tails  do  we 
put  thy  jaundice."209 

The  whole  idea  is  entirely  one  of  magic  and  cannot  be  con- 
nected with  the  ritualistic  symbolism  of  the  color,  but  the  notion 
is  perfectly  obvious.  The  ancients  knew  that  in  jaundice  there 
was  an  excess  of  yellow  in  the  complexion,  and  they  thought 
that  by  spells  they  could  exorcise  the  abhorrent  quality  and 
di'ive  it  into  some  object  of  nature,  which,  by  reason  of  its  own 
similar  color,  would  readily  absorb  both  the  disease  and  the 
accompanying  excess  of  yellow.  In  the  case  of  the  Hindus, 
the  patient  tried  at  the  same  time  by  other  magical  means  to 
apply  to  himself  the  healthy  redness  which  he  saw  all  about 
him  in  nature. 

Conclusion 

In  a  summary  of  this  investigation  no  well  defined  line  can 
be  drawn  between  the  use  of  the  words  most  important  to  the 
study,  luteus  and  croceus.  We  have  shown  from  passages  of 
literature  that  there  actually  was  a  difference  in  their  chromatic 
value,  Luteus  denotes  tints  of  yellow  shading  toward  green, 
croceus  a  more  reddish  hue,  while  flavus  is  of  small  importance 
both  in  color  differentiation  and  in  symbolic  significance.  The 
Romans  apparently  made  no  logical  and  uniform  distinction 
in  their  use  of  the  three  words,  and  yellow  was  used  in  ritual 
probably  without  reference  to  shade. 

The  most  important  instance  of  the  use  of  the  color  was  in 
the  flammeum,  the  marriage  veil.  The  yellow  shoes  which  the 
bride  also  wore  may  have  been  used  by  women  in  general,  as 
were  the  four  yellow  garments,  the  crocota,  the  crocotula,  the 
epicrocum,  and  the  caltula.  In  the  case  of  these  robes  it  is 
impossible  to  make  any  distinction  as  to  shade.     Except  for 

208  Ibid.  p.  79. 

^''^  Alharm-Veda,  1.22,  see  SBE.,  vol.  XLII,  p.  7-8,  263.  Perhaps  the 
same  idea  is  found  in  Bavaria,  Saxony  and  Bohemia,  where  the  cross-bill, 
whose  plumage  is  crimson  and  flame  color,  is  kept  in  the  homes  of  peasants 
to  ward  off  fire  and  lightning,  Frazer,  op.  cit.  p.  82. 


32  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

the  names  which  designated  them,  names  derived  from  yellow 
flowers  the  color  of  which  they  imitated,  there  is  no  evidence 
upon  which  to  base  a  conclusion. 

In  order  to  discover  the  symbolic  idea  expressed  by  the  use 
of  yellow,  we  have  studied  the  practices  most  nearly  associated 
with  its  employment.  In  the  marriage  ceremony  fire  played 
a  part  second  only  to  that  of  the  fiammeum,  and  a  number  of 
passages  of  literature  would  substantiate  the  view  that  the 
two  were  connected  in  thought  and  that  yellow  was  the  chro- 
matic symbol  of  fire. 

A  study  of  the  use  of  fire  in  the  wedding  ceremony  and  of 
other  evidence  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  this  element  was 
symbolic  of  productivity  and  life,  and  it  is  these  two  ideas 
which  yellow  in  the  marriage  rite  and  in  women's  garments 
symbolized. 

Yellow  was  worn  by  Bacchus  and  by  worshipers  of  Cybele 
and  Osiris.  Since  the  former  was  originally  a  god  of  creation 
and  productivity,  the  employment  of  the  color  in  his  cult  can 
also  be  classed  as  symbolic  of  these  functions.  The  ideas  of 
life  and  fertility  were  not  as  prominent,  however,  in  the  cults 
of  Cybele  and  of  Osiris  as  in  that  of  Bacchus,  and  we  must 
therefore  look  farther  for  a  solution  in  these  cases. 

Fire  in  almost  all  of  the  religious  systems  of  the  world,  in- 
cluding that  of  Rome,  has  been  considered  an  agent  of  purifica- 
tion. Therefore  the  use  of  its  chromatic  symbol,  yellow,  in 
the  cults  of  Cybele  and  of  Osiris  was  perhap>s  thought  to  cleanse 
the  devotees  and  make  them  fit  for  communion  with  the  deity. 
This  second  idea  of  purification  may  also  play  some  part  in 
the  cult  of  Bacchus. 

The  only  remaining  use  of  yellow  with  which  the  Romans 
were  familiar  was  in  the  magic  practices  by  which  a  jaundiced 
person  tried  to  drive  the  disease  from  himself  into  yellow  crea- 
tures or  objects. 

In  consideration  of  this  possible  explanation  of  the  significance 
attached  to  yellow,  and  of  the  familiarity  of  the  ideas  of  fer- 
tility and  purification  to  the  Roman  mind,  it  is  strange  that 
no  use  of  the  color  is  found  in  the  many  ceremonies  of  the  in- 
digenous Italic  divinities  or  in  the  dress  of  their  priests.  The 
deities  in  whose  rituals  it  appears  are  foreign  to  Rome,  and  we 
are  tempted  to  believe  that  in  the  thought  of  the  early  Roman 
the  use  of  the  color  was  indeed,  as  Pliny  states,  confined  to  women. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  following  list  indicates  the  works  to  which,  in  addition 
to  the  texts  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  reference  has  been 
made  more  or  less  constantly.  Works  less  frequently  consulted 
are  not  listed  here,  but  will  be  found  cited  in  the  footnotes. 

General  Works 

Creuzer,  Symbolik  and  Mylhologie  der  alien  Volker. 
Daremberg  et  Saglio,  Didionnaire  des  antiquites  grecques  el  romaines. 
Marquardt-Mommsen,  Handbuch  der  romischen  Alterliimer. 
Pauly-Wissowa,  Real-Encyclopddie  der  kiassischen  Alterlwnswissenschaft. 
Preller- Jordan,  Romische  Mylhologie. 
Rich,  Worlerbuch  der  romische  Allerlhumer. 
Smith,  Diclionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities. 
Smith,  Diclionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Biography  and  Mythology. 
Wissowa,  Religion  und  Kultus  der  Romer  (I wan  von  M  tiller,  Handbuch  der 
kiassischen  Altertumswissenschaft,  vol.  V,  4). 

Special  Works 

Armstrong,  Mary  E.,  The  Significance  of  Certain  Colors  in  Roman  Ritual 
Menasha,  Wis.,  1917. 

Bliimner,  Hugo,  Die  Farbenbezeichnungen  bei  den  romischen  Dichtern   (Ber- 
liner Studien  fur  klassische  Philologie  und  Archaeologie,  XIII,  3). 

,  Technologic  und  Terminologie  der  Gewerbe  und  Kiinste  bei  Griechen 

und  Romern.     BerHn,  1912. 

Bottiger,  C.  A.,  Die  Aldobrandinische  Hochzeit.     Dresden,  1810. 

Charencey,  M.  H.  de,  Symbolique  romain;  des  couleurs  affectees  aux  cochers 
du  cirque.     Caen,  1876. 

De  Marchi,  Attilio,  II  culto  privato  di  Roma  antica.     Milan,  1896. 

Diels,  Hermann,  Sibyllinische  Blatter.     Berlin,  1890. 

Farrer,  James  A.,  Primitive  Manners  and  Customs.     London,  1879. 

Fowler,  W.  Warde,  Roman  Festivals.     London,  1899. 

Frazer,  J.  G.,  The  Golden  Bough:  A  Study  in  Magic  and  Religion.     London, 
1907-15. 

Hall,  Adelaide  S.,  Important  Symbols.     Boston,  1912. 

Johnston,  H.  W.,  The  Private  Life  of  the  Romans.     Chicago,  1903. 

Knight,  R.  Payne,  Symbolical  Language  of  Ancient  Art  and  Mythology.     New 
York,  1876. 

Lawson,  J.  C,  Modern  Greek  Folklore  and  Ancient  Greek  Religion.     Cam- 
bridge University  Press,  1910. 

Leland,  C.  G.,  Etruscan  Roman  Remains.     New  York,  1892. 

McCrea,  Nelson  Glenn,  Ovid's  Use  of  Colour  and  of  Colour  Terms  {Classical 
Studies  in  Honour  of  Henry  Drisler.     New  York,  1894). 

Portal,  Frederic,  Des  couleurs  symboliques.     Paris,  1857. 

33 


34  The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 

Price,  Thomas  R.,  The  Color  System  of  Vergil  (AJP.  vol.  IV,  1883,  pp.  1-20.) 
Reinach,  Salomon,  Orpheus.     Paris,  1909. 

Rossbach,  August  Wilhelm,  Romische  Hochzeits-  und  Ehedenkmdler.     Leipzig, 
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Untersuchungen    liber    die    romische  Ehe.    Stuttgart,  1853. 

Samter,  Ernst,  Familienfeste  der  Griechen  und  Romer.     Berlin,  1901. 

Geburt,  Hochzeit  und  Tod.     Leipzig  and  Berlin,  1911. 

Schlesinger,  Max,  Geschichte  des  Symbols.     Berlin,  1912. 

Schwenk,  Conrad,  Die  Sinnbilder  der  alien  Volker.     Frankfurt,  1851. 


INDEX  TO  ANCIENT  AUTHORS 


NOTE 

Achilles  Tatius 

2.11 63 

Aelian 

N.A.  17.13 203 

Aeschylus 

Choeph.GOiS 109 

Ambrosius 

in  Psalm.  118,  serm.  17.29 30 

Apollodorus 

Bihliolheca  1.5.1 168 

2.4.1 118 

2.4.5,7 141 

Apollonius  Rhodius 

Argr.  4.808  and  Schol 81 

4.865  ff 168 

Apuleius 

Apol.  13 161 

76 43 

Flor.  16  p.  66 153 

Met.  8.27 196 

11.3 9 

11.24 194 

Aristophanes 

Schol.  Av.  266 204 

Ecd.  331 158 

878  f 158 

^choX.Eq.  1321 105 

Lys.  44 158 

Ran.  45-6  and  Schol 190 

Thesm.  137-8 159 

253 159 

945  f 158,  159 

Artemidorus 

On.  2.9 104 

Augustine 

Civ.  7.16 120,  191 

Ausonius 

355.4 73 

431.1 5 

Avianus 

Fa6.  26.5 2 

Callixenus 

ap.  Ath.  5  p.  198  c 190 

35 


NOTE 

Cassius  Dio 

37.45 128 

Cassius  Felix  (ed  Rose.) 

49  p.  128.9 6 

78  p.  190.14 7 

Catullus 

61.5-10 65,  66a 

61.8 53,58 

61.15 76 

61.167 68 

62.1 86 

62.29 87 

64.25 77 

68.71 67 

68.133-4 72 

Chiron 

169 27 

Cicero 

Arch.  10 162 

Dom.  105 127 

Har.  Resp.  8,  37,  38 127 

44 159 

Leg.  3.7 92 

A''.  D.  2.24 98 

Ciris 

251  f 158 

Claudian 

10.202 76 

10.211 22,  39 

10.285 56 

22.471 131 

Columella 

9.4.4 4 

10.398 14 

12.49.9 16 

Copa 

13 4 

Curtius 

3.5.3 98 

7.3.15 98 

8.4.8 98 

Cyprian  of  Gaul 

Gen.  333 29 

Exod.  615 28 


36 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 


NOTE 

Lev.  112 27 

los.  407 30 

Digest 

24.1.66 90 

Diodorus  Siculus 

4.34.6-7 109 

Diogenes  Laertius 

8.2.69  ff 167 

Dioscorides  Latinus 

4.125 2 

Euripides 

Iph.  Aid.  732  S 81 

Medea  102ifi 81 

Phoen.SUS 81 

Schol.  Troad.  315 81 

Festus 

p.  82M 156 

87 27,  91,  146 

89 41,  46,  134 

92 134 

106 136 

245 79,  84 

286 61 

288 80 

Gellius 

1.6.8 92 

2.26.5 25 

2.26.8,15 23 

2.26.12-13 34 

10.15.7 136 

10.15.14 137 

13.23.2 125 

Hippocrates 

Diaeta  1.4 101 

1.8 102 

Homer 

Hymn  to  Demeter  231  ff 168 

Horace 

Carm.  4.4.4 34 

Epod.lO.lQ 6 

Hyginus 

Fab.  24 105 

171,  174 109 

lamblichus 

De  Mtjsteriis  5.12 166 

Isidore 

Orig.  5.27.38 186 


NOTE 

11.1.16 98 

13.12.2 93 

18.41.2 22,  130 

19.6.2 99 

19.28.8 22 

Juvenal 

2.124 43 

2.157-8 183 

6.225  and  Schol 37,  40,  43 

7.23 8 

10.132 132 

Livy 

5.52.13  f 137 

E pit.  50 92 

Lucan 

2.361 39,  57 

4.412 36 

Lucian 

De  Morte  Peregrini  25  ff 167 

Lucretius 

6.1188 27 

Macrobius 

Sat.  1.12.6 169 

1.12.21 126 

Marcellus 

iWed.  4.15 7 

Martial 

3.93.26 76 

4.13.1 42 

4.13.2 76 

5.17.4 42 

6.45.3 42 

12.42.3 57,  76 

13.40.1 7 

Martianus  Capella 

2.140 7 

Nemesianus 

Cyn.  319 24 

Nepos 

Praef.  5 162 

Nonius 

p.  318M 159 

516 183 

538 158 

541 52 

548 157,  158 

549 22,  157 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 


37 


NOTE 

Orthographia  Capri 

Gram.  Lat.  VII,  p.  103.14-15, 

Keil 42,57 

Ovid 

^m.  3.10.3,  43 36 

Ars  3.179  f 5 

3.637 127 

Epist.n.lOl 76 

21.162 65 

21.172 153 

Fast.  2.19-46 173 

2.561  f 153 

3.135  ff 169 

4.424 36 

4.547  ff 168 

4.714 5,  12 

4.727 176 

4.732 174 

4.733  ff 175 

4.787 100 

4.791 93 

4.805 175 

5.318 30 

6.165  ff 184 

6.267 120 

6.291 119 

Ibis  4:7 32 

Me^  1.431 93 

1.432  f 99,  100 

3.509 2 

6.118 36 

7.703 5,  12 

8.445  ff 109 

10.1  f 65 

10.6-7 151 

13.579  f 5,  12 

14.448 31 

15.351 11 

15.722 33 

Trist.  5.1.31 31 

Paulinus  Petricordiae 

il/ar<.  3.199 6 

Pausanias 

8.11.2 105 

8.29.2 122 


NOTE 

Persius 

3.95 6 

Petronius 

26.1 55 

Philostratus 

Heroica  19.14  (ed.  Kayser).  .  .  170 
Pindar 

Olymp.  1.40  ff.  and  Schol..  .  .  106 
Plato 

Schol.  Gorg.  p.  494  B 204 

Plautus 

Aul.  frag.  1 158 

Epid.  231 158 

Pliny 

N.H.  2.10 95 

2.239 99 

10.144,  148 7 

16.75 75,78 

21.14 20 

21.46 39,  71 

21.49 3 

21.124 3 

21.131 4 

25.28 17 

25.108 2 

26.57 2 

27.55 15 

27.83 3 

27.133 13 

28.80 99 

30.93 205 

30.94 201 

31.90 30 

36.200-1 99 

37.170 206 

Plutarch 

Caes.  9 127 

Cic.  19-20 128 

Isis  et  Osiris  16 168 

Numa  11 94 

Q.  R.l 103 

2 97 

20 127 

Quaest.  Conviv.  5.7.2,  8  ff 202 

Symp.  4.2.1 121 


38 


The  Ritual  Significance  of  Yellow 


NOTE 

Pollux  (ed.  Bekker) 

4.117 190 

7.56 158 

Potamius 

Tract.  2  p.  1416  a 27 

Propertius 

3.16.16 76 

4.3.13 78 

4.11.46 153 

Prudentius 

Cath.  8.26-7 6 

c.  Symm.  2  praef  A 28,  30 

Seneca 

Here.  F.  124: 5 

Oed.  418  ff 189 

420 34 

Phaed.  322 69 

Servius 

ad  Verg.  Aen.  4.103 93 

4.167 90 

6.741 165 

ad  Verg.  .Ed.  4.44 22 

8.29 85,  144 

ad  Verg.  Georg.  1.7 149 

Sidonius 

Corm.  22.48  f 5 

Silius  Italicus 

2.184 151 

13.547 151 

Solinus 

2.43 9 

Sophocles 

A«%.  944  ff 118 


NOTE 

Statius 

Theb.  2.341 43 

11.142 152 

Silv.  1.2.5 76 

Suetonius 

Cal.  52 66 

Tib.  35 162 

Tacitus 

Ann.  3.71.3 137 

Tibullus 

1.1.15 36 

1.6.24 127 

1.7.46 195 

1.8.52 6 

2.2.18 74 

3.1.9 8 

Varro 

ap.  Charisium,  I  p.  144.21,  Keil  183 

ap.  Non.  p.  112  M 79 

L.L.  5.61 89,99,  103 

7.53 160 

Vegetius 

Mulom.  1.3 27 

Velleius  Paterculus 

2.82.4 157,  188 

Vergil 

Aen.  1.649  ff.,  1.711 73 

4.585 60 

4.590 34 

4.700 29 

7.26 5 

9.614 159 

Ed.  2.50 21 

Georg.  1.96 36 


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